Universal EMS eyes move from Burton to Flint's north side, addition of 200 new jobs within three years

Benny Ekong, president of Universal, is proposing the a commercial district on Flint's north side in order to relocate his medical services from Burton to Clio Road in Flint.FILE | MLive.com

FLINT, MI – For the first time in a decade, the city of Flint has received an application for the development of a commercial district – and it’s got the support of City Council President Scott Kincaid and Emergency Financial Manager Darnell Earley.

Benson Ekong, President of Universal and the Universal group of companies, wants to move his Burton-based Universal EMS ambulance and home health care company to his property on Flint’s north side at 5928 Clio Road.

With the move, the company is expected to double its workforce in the first year and triple in size within the next few years, and also become the headquarters of five different companies that operate under the Universal name.

“We’re moving because we’re getting bigger and outgrowing our current facilities. Right now, we have about 110 employees and we’re about to grow to about 300 employees in the next few years,” Ekong said.

“We’re bringing our ambulance service – part of the 911 system – to the area. We’ll be providing home care service in the community and we’re also going to move our Universal Kidney Foundation to the area. We want to be able to get into the area and get the support of the community to be able to rebuild the area, provide jobs, and connect with the people to bring better service to that area.”

Ekong said that some of the jobs will be professional positions within the health industry, such as nurses, therapists and paramedics.

“We’ll also have other jobs like mechanical jobs, janitorial services and things like that that can be filled by almost anyone in the community,” he said.

There will be five companies operating under one roof as a new headquarters for Universal and Universal Group of Companies.

Kincaid said that it’s important for the city to rally behind any sort of positive economic development that has the potential to add jobs and brighten up communities within the city.

“This is an opportunity for us to start to look at how we can expand beyond the industrial areas into the commercial district areas to make it attractive for businesses to relocate here and provide jobs in our community and increase our tax base,” he said.

Earley agreed with Kincaid. The emergency financial manager said that it’s his job as the EFM to make business development in the city attractive to prospective developers.

“I think we’re moving forward and it’s a very positive step toward showing the state and other communities that there is a lot of opportunity, that there is a lot of room for economic development in the city of Flint,” Earley said.

“I can only take any developer or owner or business partner at his or her own word as to their level of commitment. I have no reason to suspect that the comments made here will not lead toward a fruitful project that will be completed in a reasonable time period.”

Ekong suggested that the move could be completed in the span of less than one year, depending on the construction process.

He said that the fact that it’s not a brand-new company looking to build from the ground up means that the transition should be a smooth one.

“If everything goes well, the project should be starting at the end of this year. The good thing is that this isn’t a brand-new project. We’re already in existence – we’re just relocating and shifting an infrastructure. We’re going to start hiring people immediately,”

“I would think there will be about six, maybe seven months of construction before we move, so maybe by the middle of 2014 we should be moved.”

For people looking to obtain employment with Universal, Ekong said they can stop by the existing location at 4199 Davison Road in Burton to inquire about employment opportunities and to fill out applications.

“We are doing a lot of good things in the community. We are doing everything just short of being a hospital and we’re taking care of a lot of people’s needs,” Ekong said.